FC Chess Tournament 2

[minionofmidas]

Has the Napoleon-Mikado game started yet?  Could one of you give us a link if it has?  Thanks!

Apparently not. It says furballz has zero games in progress.

[Northeast Rep Snowball]

Here too for analysis, Thanks for the game oakvale, the tactic that got you the rook, and then the rook move near the end were what won the game for you. You played better then me, so: Good Game!

Here's my annotation

[Event "Challenge from snowballatlas"]
[Site "http://gameknot.com/"]
[Date "2012.11.28"]
[Round "-"]
[White "snowballatlas"]
[Black "oakvale"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1200"]
[BlackElo "1260"]
[TimeControl "2 days per move"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Bg5 c5 {Odd move, I've never played against that
before.} 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qa5+ 6. Bd2 Bb4 7. e3 {Blunder, but not bad,
I had better moves, maybe Nb3 here.} Ne4 {Agressive, good move} 8. Nb3
{I didn't need to do this, but I didn't want to trade the night for my
bishop.} Qf5 {I would have taken the bishop and then maybe played this,
but doesn't really matter} 9. Qe2 {only defence worth considering, except
qf3, but this is objectively better} Nc6 10. Bxb4 {it might've given you
a tempo, but not a huge deal} Nxb4 11. a3 {Missed your tactic, but I still
think it doesn't work, but I blundered later} Ng3 12. hxg3 {I did not expect
to castle here} Nc2+ 13. Kd1 {yep } Nxa1 14. N1d2 {and this cost me the
game, I moved the wrong knight there.} Qc2+ 15. Ke1 Nxb3 16. Nxb3 Qxb3
17. Qd2 b6 18. Be2 Ba6 19. c5 Bxe2 20. Kxe2 Qc4+ 21. Kd1 Qxc5 22. Ke2 Qd5
23. Qc3 O-O 24. Qc2 h6 25. g4 Qxg2 26. Rh4 {qb1 was better} Rac8 27. Qd3
Rc1 28. Kd2 Rfc8 29. g5 Qxf2+ 30. Qe2 R8c2+  0-1

[anvi]

Thanks for your commentary, Snowball!  It's a Swiss-system tournament, so don't give up--go get 'em the next round!

Here are my comments on the above game.  I'll focus on the most crucial moves, as I see them.

This game is a test case in the importance of rapid development, which requires that one not move a single piece more times than is required in the opening.  Notice, below, how White moves his King's Knight and Queen's Bishop each three times in the first ten moves.  That, unfortunately for Snowball in this case, is a recipe for disaster.

Th first six moves of this game by White follow one standard line of the so-called "Neo-Indian Attack" promulgated by international GM Yasser Seirawan (who I've met, actually!).  The idea of the variation is to develop White's position quickly without allowing Black quite as much counterplay as occurs in most lines of the Nimzo-Indian.  Nonetheless, I'm not a fan of this variation by White, and it is not played much at grandmaster levels because, as we shall see, it enables Black perfectly active play in an open position anyway.  Experience has proven that White can get perfectly strong chances out of regular lines of the Nimzo, so this route, it seems to me, is entirely unnecessary.  

1.   d4   Nf6
2.   c4   e6
3.   Bg5   c5
4.   Nf3   cxd4
5.   Nxd4   Qa5+
6.   Bd2   Bb4

And here Black departs from standard play.  Probably the best continuation for Black at this point is 6...Qb6, to attack White's b-pawn and slow his intended development plan, and after White continues with 7. Nb3, Black can press with 7...Ne4, which gives White possible headaches regarding the development of his queenside or his pawns structure on that side of the board.  But Black manages to get his King's Knight on e4 anyway, and demonstrates how effective the piece can be in the positions that can result from this line.      

7.   e3   Ne4
8.   Nb3   Qf5!

A fine counter by Black, which complicates White's development.  A more peaceful option would have been to just trade some minor pieces and the Queens off immediately and then castle, which would make Black slightly more active in an early endgame scenario, but the resulting position would be drawish.

9.   Qe2?   

This defense looks dubious to me.  It ensures that White will not be able to develop his kingside and castle to safety easily, and allows Black's pieces to retain active roles that bear down on his position.  The perils of this plan are made clear very quickly.  Even though moving the f-pawn before castling can be perilous, I think White stands much better chances with 9. f3, which forces some kind of clarifying resolution in the middle of the board quickly and also dissipates all the immediate danger.  If Black sticks to his plans with 9...Nc6, White simply plays 10. Bxb4 Nxb4 11 Na3 and now White can complete his own development without difficulty.  

9..            Nc6
10.   Bxb4?   

This once again invites Black to advance his own threats, so the natural urge to simply must be resisted for a few moves.  It seems that 10. g3, with a view to developing the kingside Bishop to the long diagonal on g2 and then castling would hold out better long-term prospects for White.  If you're behind in development, but there are no immediate decisive threats to your position, then complete your development quickly!

10.           Nxb4
11.   a3??

11. Na3 is obligatory at this point, to prevent the delightful discovered attack the Black is going to unleash now.

11.           Ng3!

Black can take his pick of how he wins his booty here!  I would actually have preferred 11...Nc3! in this position, as it accomplishes the same thing in terms of material gain, but in the process it also fatally compromises White's queenside pawn structure, as after 12. bc Nc2+, White has an isolated a-pawn and doubled c-pawns on a half-open file!  The endgame will be an easy win for Black.  But this is not a criticism of Black's play--he forces a combination that is an outright win for him in what follows.

12.   hxg3   Nc2+
13.   Kd1   Nxa1
14.   N1d2   Qc2+
15.   Ke1   Nxb3

White, now almost two whole pieces down and utterly unable to develop his position, is completely lost.  The rest of the game does not really require commentary.

16.   Nxb3   Qxb3
17.   Qd2   b6
18.   Be2   Ba6
19.   c5?

This not only loses another pawn, but allows Black to win without a fight, since trading further pieces off the board for no compensation just gets Black one step closer to an endgame win, which is what transpires.

In the opening, rapid development is a must, so be as economical about it as possible, and so don't move the same piece too many times in the opening unless it's absolutely necessary.

An entertaining game, guys!  Fighting chess!  Keep it up!

[anvi]

Has the Napoleon-Mikado game started yet?  Could one of you give us a link if it has?  Thanks!

Apparently not. It says furballz has zero games in progress.

Yeah, looks like it.  Mikado and Napoleon, please begin your game!!

[Napoleon]

Has the Napoleon-Mikado game started yet?  Could one of you give us a link if it has?  Thanks!

Apparently not. It says furballz has zero games in progress.

Yeah, looks like it.  Mikado and Napoleon, please begin your game!!

I tried the name Oakvale posted. No response.

[anvi]

Has the Napoleon-Mikado game started yet?  Could one of you give us a link if it has?  Thanks!

Apparently not. It says furballz has zero games in progress.

Yeah, looks like it.  Mikado and Napoleon, please begin your game!!

I tried the name Oakvale posted. No response.

Ok, well, that userid is the one I have for Mikado on GameKnot, so Mikado, could you please respond and get your game started?  I'll give you a day or two, but otherwise, I'll have to give Napoleon the point by forfeit.  Thanks.

[The Mikado]

Sorry, forgot about this.  Will respond when I get home.

[The Mikado]

OK, Napoleon, we're ready to go.  Sorry for the holdup.

[anvi]

Thanks, Mikado.  Good luck, gentlemen.

[bore]

My game against a person has finished, with me winning, were it not for my early fork though I think it would have been very close. I had a lot of fun and especially in the latter stages it got very testing. If you wanted to, anvi, I'd very much like to see an analysis.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

My game against a person game has finished, with me winning, were it not for my early fork though I think it would have been very close.

Oh, nonsense, I'm sure I would have missed something else. My middlegame tends to be awful.

Good luck on the next match!

[anvi]

Well, bore and a Person have turned in our second quite entertaining game of the first round, so let's have a look!

This game began with a fairly unambitious line of the so-called Chigorin variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, but suddenly exploded into a minefield of tactics and tantalizing opportunities for both players.  It turns out that deviating from a well-trodden opening line can still make chess interesting!

1  d4   d5
2. Nc3

This is the signature move of the Chigorin variation.  Theoretically, this is a markedly lackluster choice for White.  The idea is to get White's half-move tempo advantage that is his by virtue of the right to make the first move rolling.  The thing is that there is a much better way to accomplish this same goal while simultaneously putting immediate pressure on Black's attempt to lay equal claim to the center.  Much more common are lines the follow after 2. c4, which attacks Black's central d-pawn with a White "wing" pawn, and White can, in most cases to his advantage, follow up by taking Black's d-pawn and possibly ending up with two center-pawns to Black's one, while at the same time opening a diagonal for his King's Bishop and a half-open file for his Queen's Rook.  Current world champion Vishwanathan Anand has take in the last several years to combatting this plan as Black with an energetic revival of the Slav Defense, responding to White's 2. c4 with 2...c6, and this tack enabled him to wrest the crown several years ago from Vladimir Kramnik ("Vlad the Impaler").  The path White chooses here offers Black a level position.

2.        e6

In his turn, Black chooses a fairly low-key line.  This move hems in Black's Queen's Bishop in, which is, while not uncommon in Queen's Pawn openings for him, still something worth avoiding if possible.  2...Nf6 or 2...Bf5 are worth considering.

3. e3    g6

And here Black leaves book lines behind.  The move ...g6 is played in other lines of this opening, and so it does have some precedent.  The idea is to place his Bishop on g7 and bear down on White's center with that piece's influence over the dark squares, in the spirit of "hypermodern" openings.  The move is slightly anti-positional, to the extent that the move 2...e6 already created a promising diagonal for this Bishop that could be used to press White's setup in other tactical ways.  But, being the fan of hypermodern strategy that I am, let's see what happens!

4. Nf3   Nf6
5. a3?

Perhaps the "?" is a bit of a harsh judgement of this missive, since it's not exactly a blunder, it doesn't lose material or ruin White's game or anything.  But my use of punctuation in this case is meant to underline the fact that there is nothing that requires or even recommends this move.  Black has clearly announced his intention to develop his King's Bishop to g7 with his third move, and so this prophylactic measure wastes White's half-move pull for no reason.  Better to continue his Kingside development.

5.          Bg7
6. Bd3   O-O
7. O-O   Nc6?

Once again, I highlight this move with the punctuation mark because it loses the thread of the plan.  The whole rationale of developing his King's Bishop to g7 is to exert pressure on White's center.  Having said "a" in the goals of this plan, Black must now say "b."  7...Nbd7 followed by 8...c5 is the only strategically consistent continuation.

8. b4

Black's seventh move, developing his Queen's Knight to c6, has made this foray possible. Thinking back, I'm not sure if White intended this push when he played 5. a3, but Black's play has nonetheless helped this happen.  White's is a forceful continuation to be sure; his King is secure, his central position is stable, and so he strikes out to establish the initiative on the Queenside too, which, if it's successful, may put Black in a completely defensive position.  Another possibility may have been 8. Re1, with a view to pushing his e-pawn and opening up the position for his own pieces, since he is already better placed there.  But variety is the spice of life, and there is nothing to find at fault at the moment in White's choice--it is promising!

8.         b6

Now Black tries to develop his Queen's Bishop to the "hypermodern" post of b7, where it might serve the purpose of locking White's e-pawn in place should he ever try something like the sequence mentioned in the last note and expand in that area of the board.  The only drawback is that the plan makes Black's position, while solid, pretty passive and just cedes the initiative to White.  A better way to help his pieces uncoil might be an immediate 8...Nbd7 with an advance of his own e-pawn in view.  White has chosen, for the moment, to try and make some progress on the Queenside, and a good rule of thumb in middlegame play is: "when you're opponent attacks on the wing, counter-attack in the center."  Black's purely elective passivity in the present position will soon catch up with him, unfortunately.

9. Rb1    Qe7
10. Bb2  Nd7?

Now that Black has moved his Queen to e7, this follow-up gets Black into some trouble.

11. Nb5    e5?

There is no compensation available to justify this move immediately, and it just loses material unnecessarily.  One of the most difficult things to do at a chessboard is to admit one is wrong, but sometimes, it's still the best thing to do.  Black has to retreat now with 11...Qd8, and then he can follow up by first kicking White's Knight away with 12...a6 and the push this pawn, and suddenly a quiet position has exploded into an open board full of chances for both players. 

12. Nc7    Rb8
13. Nxd5  Qe6?

The Queen is too vulnerable on this square, as White will demonstrate shortly.  Once again, a full retreat to d8 seems most prudent.

14. Bc4    cxd4?

Black once again would be better served by moving his valuable lady out of harms way, perhaps to d6. 

15. Bxd4?

And now White missteps.  He can win more material here with 15. Nxb6!, and, now that he is the equivalent of a piece up, he gan begin trading down to a won endgame.

15.             exd4
16. Bcd4     Nxd4
17. exd4     Qc6??

There are no good prospects on the board for Black at the moment, but this terrible blunder gives away the beleaguered Queen for free.  17...Qd6 covers all the immediate threats and helps put pressure on White's newly isolated d-pawn at least.  From here, Black can develop his Queen's Bishop to b7 and hope for the best.

18. Ne7+    Kh8
19. Nxc6     Rb7
20. Qd3

White has an easy win from here on out any way you play it.  But I would probably have chosen 20. Re1 immediately, just to prevent any counterplay on Black's part and finish things off as quickly as possible.  But White handled himself fine from here on out and got the full point easily enough, so the rest of the game doesn't really call for comment.

Black missed a few tactical shots in the game, which happens and can only be corrected by looking at the position more carefully and calculating variations a bit better.  But, since I'm always on the lookout for deeper strategic reasons behind my own losses, with a view to learning lessons about how to plan better, I think the crucial moves in this game were Black's 7th and 9th.  These moves were simply not the best choices to carry out a plan that was nonetheless correct in inception, namely to strike at White's central d4 pawn.  As "a Person" rightly notes in the post above, good middlegame play is one of the single-most vital keys to being skilled at chess.  Once you devise the right plan, you have to begin looking at which sequences of moves and tools are best suited to carrying out your plan with the greatest speed and efficiency.  What made the difference in this game was, to my mind, less the unforced loss of Black's Queen on moves 17 and 18, but the difference in the players' respective abilities, not to find coherent plans, but to carry them out.  And in this particular instance, bore did a better jon at that and earned his full point. 

Better luck next round, a Person!  It's a Swiss system tournament, so you're still very much in it!  Everybody else, look out for bore--he evidently plays well! 
 

[Northeast Rep Snowball]

I going to be gone this saturday for a chess olympics in Yorkshire NY, not going to start a game if something like that happens over the weakend.

[bore]

Thanks for the analysis anvi, it was very interesting reading.

My game against a person game has finished, with me winning, were it not for my early fork though I think it would have been very close.

Oh, nonsense, I'm sure I would have missed something else. My middlegame tends to be awful.

Good luck on the next match!

Well, we'll never know, good luck to you as well.

Also if anyone wants to play a game outwith the competition feel free to ask.

[minionofmidas]

1-0 for Bulgaria.

[GMantis]

As Lewis pointed out, our game finished with me winning. An interesting game, with an unusual opening, that was unfortunately marred by an early blunder by my opponent (due to a conditional move). Still, Lewis managed to recover somewhat (partly due to some mistakes of mine) and it wasn't easy to convert my advantage. If it's possible anvi, I'd be interested in your opinion on the game, especially on the soundness of the opening.

[minionofmidas]

As Lewis pointed out, our game finished with me winning. An interesting game, with an unusual opening, that was unfortunately marred by an early blunder by my opponent (due to a conditional move). Still, Lewis managed to recover somewhat (partly due to some mistakes of mine) and it wasn't easy to convert my advantage. If it's possible anvi, I'd be interested in an analysis, especially on the soundness of the opening.

You made some suboptimal moves, but no crazy blunders, or at least none that I spotted and used.

Unlike me. I count three of'em. Two of them unforced.

Obviously I'll want to read anvi's analysis too!

[minionofmidas]

I take solace in the fact that the last tournament I played was also four-round "Swiss" with a similar number of participants and I won it after losing the first round.

The only problem is that it wasn't a Chess but a Tichu tournament.

[anvi]

What a fascinating game between GMantis and Lewis!  This one will be fun and instructive to look through!  The game ends up being a lesson about the importance of secure advanced Knights.

1. e4       c5

The Sicilian Defense!  GMantis is already a player after my own heart!

2. Nf3      d6
3. d4       cxd4
4. Nxd4   Nf6
5. f3

White opts for the so-called Prins Variation, sometimes called the Moscow.  The idea for White is to shore up his e-pawn, as in many variations of the Sicilian that involve Black fianchettoing his King's Bishop to g7, the so-called Dragon variations, lots of combinations can ensue that leave this pawn very vulnerable if it only enjoys piece support.  Furthermore, this choice helps keep a Black Knight off of g4 for good, which in some recently popular variations of the Sicilian can cause White headaches.  It is hardly the most energetic of White continuations, but it does allow him to set up fairly tight positions that have been hard for Black to crack through even with the active counterplay that he is now allowed.  It also avoids the enormously complex and tactically tricky mountain of lines that ensue from more frequently played variations.  "Solid but passive" is the way I would characterize most good lines of the Prins for White.  It's quite playable, but not my taste, since, to me, playing 1. e4 sort of commits White to pressing for an attack if he wants the full point.  

5.               e5

Black choses the most popular continuation, though the immediate 6...Nc6 is also good and retains some central pawn flexibility.  I'd probably prefer the latter course, since, in my own experience of playing the Sicilian, maintaining "small centers" with pawns on d6 and e6 (the Schevenigan approach) offers lots of options.

6. Bb5+     Bd7

Perfectly playable, but grandmaster play has so far shown that 6...Nbd7 offers Black better long-term chances.

7. Nf5??

A blunder that executes this move a step too early, since it hangs the Bishop at b5!  The standard line is 7. Bxd7+ and after either 7...Qxd7 or 7...Nbxd7, White can then follow up with 8. Nf5.  Still, even in the line as correctly played, I think 8. Nf5 is not particularly appealing, despite its aggressive appearance.  The typical "freeing" move in the Sicilian for Black, the move that can maximize his piece activity and counterplay if he can engineer it, is d5, attacking White's center, and in this position, Black can simply play it immediately with 8...d5 and guarantee himself a good game.  There is, at this point, no way for White to prevent d5, so I'd actually prefer moving the Knight to b3, where I won't have to worry about it's being slightly insecure in an advanced position, and then continue my development.  Advanced Knights are only really effective if they can be maintained on their posts to exert pressure deep in the opponent's position, and if one advances a Knight only to either retreat it or trade it off for a comparatively inactive Bishop, then there isn't much point to their short-term advance.  Unfortunately, as played, White loses a piece.

7.             Bxb5
8. Nc3      Bd7?

Why surrender a pawn back?  Chess is for greedy people!  8...Bc6 enables the Bishop to exert important influence over d5, and now Black has the option of kicking the f5-Knight away with ...g6 (told you the Knight is not secure on that square!) and the possibly fianchettoing his King's Bishop, or developing his Queen's Knight via a6, c7 and e6, which, though a bit time-consuming, makes it an effective piece too!

9. Nxd6+ Bxd6
10. Qxd6   Qe7

A reasonable choice.  Two pawns ahead, Black tries to obviate the possibility of any White attack and trade down to an endgame with a possibly decisive material advantage.

11. Qd3

Correct, and for the same reason as just cited.  Trading down at this point can only favor Black, so White has to keep his pieces on the board and complicate the position as much as possible.

11.            O-O
12. O-O     Rd8
13. Be3

It's probably more prudent to back the Queen up one more step to e2 immediately, just to prevent any discovered attacks by Black's now centralized rook.

13.            Be6
14. Qb5?  

I think this is strategically bad, and the coming play will show why.  The Queen makes no threats on this square and is too vulnerable to Black's own minors to be wandering around like this.  14. Qe2 is still better, as here she has the choice of either supporting the opposition of Black's rook control of the d-file if it becomes necessary, or, even better, from e2, the Queen can shunt over to f2, where in a battery with the e3 Bishop can exert possibly fruitful influence over the dark squared complexes on the board.  White is two pawns down, but there are opposite-colored Bishops on the board, and so drawing chances for White are intimately bound up with his ability to maximize the power of his dark-squared Bishop, and a Queen on f2 would go a long way toward achieving that.

14.           Nc6
15. a3      Qc7
16. f4?

There is a tactical point to this move that I'll return to in a moment, but it doesn't really work, because White is underestimating the move Black is building toward, namely ...Nd4, which exploits the exposed position of Black's Queen and threatens to weigh heavily on his position besides.  As a defensive necessity, probably safest here is something like 16. Rfc1 and now if Black continues with 16...Nd4 anyway, White can retreat the Queen to f1 with a view toward the step to f2 described above.  But, positionally, White's best hope for his dark-squared Bishop might be a sequence that gets it to g5,  where the Bishop threatens to either bust up Black's Kingside pawn structure in exchange for the Knight or, probably better, relocate to g3 where it, as in the note above, can exert powerful influence over Black's dark squares (or, in chess lingo, build a "dark square bind").  But, in the present position, White has to block before punching, and 16. f4? only loses him more material by force

16.              Nd4
17. Qxe5

Unfortunately for White, this is now obligatory as Black threatens to follow up with ...Bc4.  It is the reason White played f4.  But as we shall soon see, the chessboard is full of wonderful resources sometimes, and White will still have a fighting chance several moves down the road if he jumps on a certain move quickly enough.

17.              Qxe5
18. fxe        Nxc2
19. Bg5       Nxa1
20. Rxa1     h6?

This allows White the possibility of regaining a pawn.  How about 20...Rd4, which releases the King's Knight from the pin, pressures the e-pawn, probably forcing White to trade down, and threatening to double rooks on the d-file at some point.

21. Bf4?

And White returns the favor.  21. Bxh6 gxh 22. exf wins a pawn back for White, and more, the new pawn on f6 acts as what chessplayers call a "nail" in Black's position as it prevents Black's King from moving toward the center of the board via the dark squares in any ensuing endgame.  Moreover, White can still try to engineer support for this pawn by pushing his e-pawn to e5 and creating an outpost for his own remaining Knight deep in Black's position.  That's it seems to me, is the only hope White has left anyway.

21.           Nh5
22. g3      Nxf4
23. gxf4    f5?

This is a really poor choice, as it gives White the opportunity to get back in the game immediately and in a big way.  First of all, it gives White a protected, passed e-pwan, a dangerous weapon in any endgame.  But, more than that, it gives White a golden opportunity to virtually equalize the position, even at more than a piece down, with 24. exf Bxf5 25. Nb5!  Nothing can prevent this Knight from landing with a thud heard round the kingdom on d6, where it threatens b7, controls f5 and controls the potential White queening square of e8!  If Black follows with 25...Rd2, White drops the horse on d6 and suddenly Black finds himself needing to shore up his own position rather than doing what he should be entitled to do by now, namely wrap up the game.  The simple 23...a6 would allow Black to continue with his mopping-up operation and even quickly create an anchor for his light-squared Bishop via ...b5.  In the next several moves, both players continue to overlook this possibility, and so I mark each of them with punctuation until we reach a decisive position.

24. Rf1?    g6?
25. b4?     Rc8?
26. exf5    gxf
27. Nb5

Now you're talkin'!  

27.           Bc4?

Another bad choice by Black, as it could have yet permitted White endgame opportunities.  Probably best here is 27...Rd2, activating it before White can close off the file, and then if Black still tries 28. Nd6 then 29 Rcc2 and it looks like White is now finished.

28.  Nxa7?

No!  In this case, the d6 outpost is still more valuable than the pawn
25. Re1 retains the possibility of marching the central pawns down the board if Black should move his Bishop.  The move therefore also still makes the creation of the Knight outpost on d6 a possibility.  If you're losing an endgame, but still have potent weapons on the board, use them!  Sometimes even the threat of gaining play is more effective than the execution, as your opponent might take the win for granted and let you back in the game, or overreact to your threat and let you back in the game another way.

28.             Ra8
29. Rc1      Rd4

White is now utterly lost and the rest of the game requires no comment.

Never underestimate the power of advanced Knights!  Just make sure they are secure.

That was a fascinating game, guys!  Best of luck to you both in the next round!

[minionofmidas]

You call me utterly lost one move before I throw away the knight. Or maybe you just wanted to gloss that over. (That I'm utterly lost after that no one would deny.)

[anvi]

Sorry, Lewis.  But the move 28 Nxa7 makes the Knight unsalvageable anyway.  28. Nxa7 Ra8 and now where does the Knight go?  Everywhere it moves, it's captured.  The horse was doomed as soon as he snapped up Black's a-pawn.

[minionofmidas]

Sorry, Lewis.  But the move 28 Nxa7 makes the Knight unsalvageable anyway.  28. Nxa7 Ra8 and now where does the Knight go?  Everywhere it moves, it's captured.  The horse was doomed as soon as he snapped up Black's a-pawn.

Ah. Thanks. Didn't look into that afterward.

[SPC]

Germany 1 - United States 0

[Franzl]

Germany 1 - United States 0

Good game. You obstructed my win for a much longer time than I wanted, you put up a good fight after the accident that cost your queen.

I made some pretty stupid decisions as well (including one that should have cost my queen) theoughout the game.

[anvi]

Thanks, guys.  Four games from the first round are complete.  Games between Napoleon and Mikado and Gustaf and homelycooking are still in progress.  Once those games conclude, I will post parings for round 2.